Austenland Extended
by Zephyr
Summary: Some in-between and post-ending scenes, since the film was all over too quickly. Hopefully amusing to others besides myself. References some deleted scenes.
1. Chapter 1

**_After Martin left for the airport…_**

"What was that about?" Henry asked the Colonel, better known as James when by the pool.

"Hmm," James hesitated a moment, "Permission to speak freely about your relatives?"

"Granted."

James was obliged to pause his video game.

"Well, apparently your Jane decided to report the old lech after all, so the puppet master sent Martin to persuade her otherwise."

"Since she's _not_ – was never – _my_ Jane," Henry said with great effort, "and I was just a stand-in, I see why my aunt wouldn't send me, but why _Martin_? Didn't she figure out what he's been up to all this time? Shouldn't he have been sacked by now?"

"Sacked? Oh, my boy, you really are in the dark about how things work here," James realized, "Martin was only doing exactly what the old girl pays him to do."

Henry looked at James in disbelief, but James' countenance was firm on this. There was no joke.

"She assigned Martin to Jane?" Henry said, unable to leave the question mark off the end of the statement just yet.

James nodded.

"But - but - the saxophone, the singing, all the rule-breaking – "

"Your dear aunt, in her monetary wisdom, has often said, 'Only a true Austen fan should get a true Austen experience.' And she measures truth in pounds. So, the Copper Packages, generally, get the lying, 21st century, cad experience."

James paused to shake his head sympathetically, "They could get that at home… for free… and minus the corsets…"

Jane's words from last night were echoing in Henry's ears, _I want something real_. He couldn't let Martin and his aunt manipulate her again. And, maybe, then there would be an opportunity to convince her…

"Humph!" James was going on, "Your aunt wouldn't know a _true_ Austen fan if they hit her in the face – and, at times, I certainly wished Jane would have – sorry, Henry."

Henry stood there mute, oblivious to James' apology and the reason for it. His mind raced. James finally looked up at the statue that was Henry Nobley.

"Good God, man!" James rebuked him, standing suddenly as the formidable Colonel Andrews, though in a cowboy hat with flames on it, "What are you still doing here? Get your arse to the airport and find your lady before bloody Martin does!"

With an appreciative slap to the Colonel's shoulder, and a hearty look of resolve on his face, Henry Nobley was off.


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Note: This chapter is a late insert. This chapter was originally uncooperative. Think it's OK now. (The inner voice exchanges were likely influenced by my having recently read the fanfic "emails from Austenland." Go read it, if you haven't!)_

_**After Jane was "over this"…**_

Henry watched her walk away, his feelings cycling through helplessness, frustration, misery and back again. A voice inside of him shouted:

_You're not going to let her walk away?_

But Henry could not see another option. He couldn't chase Jane down now – not with all these desperate emotions churning inside of him. Surely it could only come out as an awkward, incoherent, and downright creepy mess, if he tried again.

_At least this way she leaves thinking of me as 'perfect,' _he tried to reason.

The voice, however, would not have it.

_A perfect liar! Are you really okay with that? _

Henry noticed that, on this occasion, his inner voice sounded in his head exactly like Jane's voice. Henry wanted to believe her – er – believe _it_ that he shouldn't give up, but his hesitation was like a massive wall before him. He tried to explain to the Jane-voice:

_What else could I do? I leapt over barriers, I skirmished with a villainous rogue, and I spoke recklessly from the heart – twice! I have to accept that she doesn't return my feelings. If I keep chasing after her, she'll think I'm a lunatic._

The inner voice tried a more sympathetic tone.

_You're supposed to act like a lunatic – you're in love. Anyway, how could she believe you were for real with Martin pedaling his crap at the same time? If even the gardener was in on it, how could she trust the nephew?_

Henry nodded. _Right. Going to go beat the piss out of bloody Martin now._

_No, you're not, _the Jane voice laughed.

_Oh, that laugh_. Would he never hear it again, except in his imagination? Henry sighed the most pathetic lovesick sigh of his life. It was, however, a final indulgence. His spine straightened, his jaw clenched and strode resolutely out of the airport as the Jane voice led him on:

_She's on her way to America. Back home to her reality. Thousands of miles away from Martin. Thousands miles away from Wattlesbrook. Thousands of miles away from Austenland. That's where she needs to hear the truth. That's where she can believe you._


	3. Chapter 3

_**After Henry got back from the airport…**_

"I could have finished the job fine, if Wattlesbrook had just trusted me to do it – like I always have before. Sending Sonny Jim barreling in as back-up just mucked everything up," Henry heard Martin complaining to someone out by the pool, "He blew the whole thing. But she'll take his side, of course."

It was James' voice that answered.

"Will the comedy of errors never cease?" he asked the gods, "Martin, Henry didn't go because his aunt sent him. He went because he is in _love_ with the girl."

"What, seriously? … Amateurs. You don't fall in love with the guests. I did him a favor – they're all nutters."

"James," Henry called out from the pool house, restraining himself from renewing a confrontation with Martin, "I need your help."

James left Martin at the pool and followed Henry to his quarters. Henry filled in some of the holes in Martin's version of events as they went.

Once they arrived at his room, Henry pulled a suitcase out of the closet and announced:

"I'm going after her."

James squealed rather with delight. Then said very seriously, if a bit overly so:  
"You're giving me chills, old boy. "

"She's convinced I'm an actor," Henry began to explain, but glanced down at his costume in exasperation. He went back into his closet and pulled out some of his real clothes and laid them on the bed.

"But with a grand enough gesture – "

"Such as following her to America," James interjected giddily.

"She'll _have_ to believe I'm genuine."

Henry stared at the outfit he laid out with some consternation.

"And then, whether she loves me back or not…"

James had meanwhile wandered into Henry's closet.

"At least I'll know that I didn't lose something real over a stupid misunderstanding."

James switched out the shirt Henry had laid out for another.

"Bravo," James told him, "So, how _else_ can I help?"

Henry let out a breath and turned to face James. This was a significant favor.

"I don't even know Jane's last name, much less where she lives. Do you think you could liberate her file from my aunt's office? I know it's a lot to ask – "

The military strategist that was Colonel Andrews straightened with honor at his enlistment to such a noble mission.

"Consider it done, sir," he declared, "But… I shall need a distraction."

"Oo, I'm good at those," an unexpected voice volunteered, "In fact, I'm good at distracting _and_ stealing. Just ask ol' Fartwright."

Henry was momentarily taken aback when Miss Charming entered his bedroom and stood next to James.

"It's alright," the colonel said, "She's cool."

"I'm cool," she echoed, swaying a bit like a bobble-head, "Oh hey, before we go libahratin' the fie-yul..."  
She wandered back out of the room and returned a moment later. She carried a book – Jane's sketchbook. She held it out to Nobley.  
"Jane forgot this. You can return it to her when you see her."

Henry nodded and accepted it gratefully. He placed it carefully in his suitcase.

"Let's go steal from Wattlesbrook!" Charming exclaimed to Andrews.

Nobley couldn't help chuckling when James followed her out, crying, "Tally Ho, Lizzie!" He wished Jane had been there to hear it…

He locked the door behind them, so he could change. But the sketchbook drew him back to it. _God, how can I miss her so much when she's only just left? _He opened the book and paged through it slowly. He paused on the remarkably prophetic sketch of himself and Martin engaging in fisticuffs. It was so early in the sequence. He kept going, in the back of his mind hoping… Henry's breath stopped. She had done it. The self portrait. He felt guilty as his finger traced her outline lovingly, because he knew what he would do next. He glanced around the empty room out of nonsensical instinct, then carefully, so carefully, pulled the page away from the binding. It came off nearly perfectly straight from his effort.

"Sorry," he murmured, then quickly folded the page and slipped it into his inside jacket.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Colonel Andrews and Miss Charming to the rescue…**_

"She's not like the others, that's what I'm trying to tell you," James was saying frantically to Mrs. Wattlesbrook outside her little cottage/office, "I think the woman is _dangerous_."

"You know I do background checks on all our guests," she said with some annoyance, "She's completely harmless. I'll send one of the servants to flirt with her and she'll forget all about you."

Such an affront to his craft he could not let stand. Fortunately, before James could argue, she added:  
"Have a drink by the pool, think about the bonus you're getting for doing such a good job with her, and relax."

He snapped back into character.  
"I can't relax by the pool – she was at the pool! She's everywhere!"

Proving the point, several yards behind Wattlesbrook's back, creeping around the west side of the cottage, was the alleged 'she.'

"Oh god!" he exclaimed as if horrified, and shot his left arm over her shoulder, "There! In the bushes! You see? You see? She's everywhere I go!"

Wattlesbrook turned to look to the east of her cottage, where he pointed… meanwhile Charming was giving James double-thumbs up from where she stood next to an open window. He waved her on with his right hand to hurry up. As Wattlesbrook turned back to face him, he quickly put his right hand to his cheek in distress.

"James, you've worked yourself up into a frenzy," Wattlesbrook chastised him, "She's not there. Go to your room and lock yourself in for an hour or two if you must, but get a grip!"

She was about to whirl around to go to her office, when he weakly replied:

"I'm sorry, my dear, but I think I _must _call the police about this."

"Police!" It was Wattlesbrook's turn to panic. "James, don't be ridiculous!"

James looked away from her with nervous doe-eyes and she tried a more gentle approach. He did his best not to notice Lizzie's legs kicking out the window as she made entry to the cottage.

"I promise you," Wattlesbrook was saying, "We don't need the police. I shall have a talk with Miss Charming. You'll never have work with her again, never even have to see her again. You are a valued employee, James, and I would never want you to feel uncomfortable. How about if I assign Heinrich and Lorenzo to escort you for the rest of the day? If she tries to approach you, they'll gently usher her back to me and I will make sure everyone is happy."

"Well, I don't know…"

Charming had made it all the way in. He didn't know long it would take her to find the file. At times the poor girl, delightful as she was, seemed almost illiterate. _I probably should have thought of that sooner…_

"It's only natural that she should find me irresistible…" he was saying to the old girl.

"Absolutely," Wattlesbrook agreed.

"I don't know how you could possibly talk her into settling for less…"

"It's all about letting them down gently," she assured him, "I do this all the time. Some flattery, a coupon for their next visit – "

"Next visit?!" James squeaked in alarm. A folder had come flying out of the window onto the lawn, followed by the front half of Miss Charming.

"Well, James, we certainly can't lose her business, she's extremely well off and extremely lonely. But I'll assign Captain East. George can handle her and you can take that session off. Alright?"

By this time Lizzie was upright and dusting herself off.

"Could it be…" he began as Lizzie finally picked up the folder and scurried away, "…Heinrich and Frederico instead?"

"Done," she told him with a warm (relieved) smile.

"Alright," he said, "I'll head back to my room then until they come. Tell them to knock three times, pause, then knock again."

"Excellent. Don't worry about a thing, James. I'll take care of everything."

He nodded and smiled and finally allowed her to turn and go. He too turned away and began making his way to the rendezvous point. He sighed as he walked.

"What a shame," he murmured to himself, "Such magnificent improvisation and no one to see it."


	5. Chapter 5

_**After Jane's plane landed…**_

Jane stopped up short outside the bookstore at the airport, as if she had nearly walked into her realization. _I really was an addict._

There they were… copies of Pride & Prejudice right out front. In the past, a copy of Pride & Prejudice had to be handled. No matter how recently she had read it, she would still be compelled to flip through those pages and read just a taste, before returning it to the shelf and herself to the real world. The compulsion had been normal for so long she didn't know when it began, but today, it was gone. Well, the sight of them still made her glad – it was her favorite book. _This must be the difference between fan and fanatic, _she thought, _Bravo, Jane_. And she meant that, and felt the truth of it, but at the same time there was a less pleasant feeling stirring. A lacking. She pushed it away with positive thinking: _This is good… This is healthy... I'm proud of myself... I'm moving on…_

On the cab ride home from the airport, Jane reviewed her memories of her trip and what stories she would tell Molly. She regretted leaving her sketchbook behind, even if it was a symbolic break from her Austen obsession to do so. The sketches would have been nice, in the absence of photos. _But then_, she thought_, I would have had to tear some of them out, because Molly would be sure to notice the same thing Nobley had_.

Jane shoved that memory aside brusquely, but soon found herself looking at her reflection in the cab's rearview mirror. _The mirror. _Jane looked into her own sad eyes as if in a trance.

_I am free of Mr. Darcy… but is it only because he has been replaced by Mr. Nobley?_

Jane tried to smile at her silliness. _Mr. Nobley was simply another representation of Mr. Darcy - and a phony one at that… a 3D, touchable version… that could bring me meaningful gifts… wrap me in his coat when I shivered… kiss my hand… dance with me… beg me to stay…_

Jane jerked her face sourly away from the rearview mirror and out the window.

_So much for healthier… _

But by the time her cab ride had ended, Jane managed to turn her thinking back around. She _had_ moved on. She had dumped Mr. Darcy, when she chose reality instead of Mr. Nobley. And she had rejected all insincere jerks (the Mr. Wickhams of reality, if you will), when she did not let herself be fooled again by either of Wattlesbrook's actors. Her declaration at the airport marked a fresh start. No more fantasy men _and_ no more real-life cads.


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's Note: You should go watch the scene where Henry shows up at Jane's apartment again before you proceed. Not because you need to. In fact, it'll probably only make my poor fanfiction lamer by comparison. But you deserve an excuse to go enjoy it again. Maybe I do too..._

_**After she finally believed him...**_

"Oh, um, any second my friend Molly is going to walk in," she said pulling back a little and drawing one arm away to gesture towards the door, "That's who I thought you were before."

He tried not to show too much disappointment as he released her and glanced at the still empty doorway.

"I haven't seen her since I got back – " Jane explained.

He nodded, understandingly

"And she's going to be very surprised, since I didn't tell her any of the _good_ stuff that happened on my trip, just the bad."

"Well, then I'd have thought you told her quite a lot about me."

She shook her head.

"Not a word," she replied, getting a little lost in his eyes for a moment, then dropping her glance, "I didn't go into details, just that the 'Copper Package' was pretty lacking."

"Yes, he certainly was."

She swallowed a chuckle and tried to give him a disapproving look.

"I don't know how I'm going to explain you to her."

"Should I go?" he offered.

"No!" she blurted out before he could continue, instinctively grabbing his arm. He smiled with delight – to her relief. She blushed terribly at her outburst.

"Just to give you two some time to catch up," he explained, placing a reassuring hand on her arm, "Then perhaps I could take you – both of you, if you like – out to dinner?"

She considered it for a second or two.

"Stay until she gets here, at least," Jane told him, "That way she can confirm you're not a figment of my imagination."

He smiled and nodded his agreement to remain. Meanwhile, however, her brow furrowed under an unpleasant thought.

"When do you have to go back?" she asked.

He sobered a bit as well.  
"Tomorrow. I have a conference I have to attend."

She nodded, trying to focus on how fortunate it was that he had been able to come at all.

"Maybe just us for dinner then," she said with a guilty grin escaping her.

He nodded and there was more gazing between them. Jane knew she had better keep talking in order to prevent them from being in too shocking of a position when Molly arrived (what was taking her so long?!).

"A conference?" she asked teasingly, "Is that code for another session of wooing at the manor?"

"Ohh no, a conference for my _real_ job," he told her, "That was a one-time -only, family-guilt-induced favor. Aunt Marjorie needed another male body to take up space until George finished another acting job."

"Lucky," Jane said softly.

"Incredibly lucky," he affirmed in kind, moving in for another kiss.

"Wait, hold on," Jane said, a twinge of paranoia threatening to grow, "She probably had fifty extra male bodies on the property. She couldn't have spared one of the servants?"

"Jane, it may have escaped your notice, but ninety percent of those men barely speak a word of English. How else do you think they could stand to work for my aunt?"

Jane laughed.

"The other ten percent she either didn't think could pull off the manners – like Martin – or the sexual orientation. I don't know whether she was right, but those were the reasons she gave me."

"A second Colonel Andrews probably would have been a bit _too_ obvious, even for Lizzie" Jane agreed, tentatively, "But, um, is it too late to ask to see some ID, Mr. Nobley?"

"Not at all," he said, grinning as he reached into his pocket, "Very wise. In fact, I brought a list of references to vouch for me."

"You didn't," she laughed, looking over the list in question as he handed it to her, along with two forms of ID.

"After what happened at the airport? Of course I did. Conference or no conference, I wasn't giving up until you at least _believed_ me, even if you didn't… care for me."

Jane was touched, but felt compelled to point out:

"As I recall, you nearly gave up just _seconds_ after arriving."

"It didn't occur to me, until you brought up my aunt, that you might still imagine I was under orders. I thought coming here would surely speak for itself, and the only explanation for your not being glad to see me had to be that you didn't feel anything for me."

"I am more than glad to see you," she said, tossing his 'evidence' to the floor as she said it. "But… unfortunately I don't believe a word of what you're telling me."

She stepped close to him again and wrapped her arms over his neck. He smirked with an idea where she was going with this accusation.

"Is that so?" he asked.

"You're a shameless, Austenland actor," she told him, "And it could take _weeks_ to convince me otherwise."

Before he could reply –

"Ahem."


	7. Chapter 7

_**At the airport before Henry returns home…**_

"I still can't believe you came all the way out here," Jane couldn't help repeating. It was Henry's fault. Those eyes of his only encouraged her when she said such things. His gaze was always warm and attentive for her; never absent or bored.

"I had to," he told her earnestly, "I had to find out what ' supply of pregnant horses' meant. "

Jane was doubled over by the word 'horses,' and Henry soon joined her.

"I must say," he added, when Jane had nearly caught her breath again, "that I was relieved to hear that part of the story, because a baby horse is a powerful thing – "

Jane started to lose it again.

"Who _wouldn't_ walk out of a ballroom with the guy after that?"

As much as he had made her laugh, Jane felt acutely the ever-increasing weight on her heart as his departure grew closer.

"Are you sure I can't kidnap you right now?" he asked quite seriously.

She smiled, but was too melancholy for spontaneous, light-hearted banter. Fortunately, she came to the airport with some material prepared.

"Henry," she said, changing the subject, "You know how you brought me that mirror in the garden and suggested I sketch myself?"

"Mmm," Henry nodded as his eyes shifted off into the distance and he struggled to keep an innocent face.

"Well, I _did_ sketch a self portrait. And, I mean, it was probably silly, because we could just take a picture with a phone, and that would be better quality, I'm sure, but I wanted to send that sketch home with you. Mysteriously, however, it's missing from my sketchbook."

"Is it?" he asked with raised eyebrow, but a smile creeping onto his face.

"It is," she replied, reaching into his jacket while still watching his face, and deftly pulling out an incriminating, folded piece of paper.

"My, my, what's this?" she asked.

He snatched it from her hands and snaked his other arm around her.

"For the next few weeks," he answered, " – my salvation."


	8. Chapter 8

_**When Jane returns to see Henry a few weeks later…**_

_Now remember,_ Jane told herself as she scanned the arrival gate for Henry, _He won't be in Regency era clothing._ What he was wearing however, she wasn't prepared for. Laughter sputtered from her lips. There he was, her dashing English boyfriend, in an I-heart-Darcy t-shirt. He was smiling back good-naturedly, and started walking swiftly over to meet her, since her reaction to his attire had stopped her short. It was then that she noticed he wasn't the only one there to meet her. Her true bosom friend (or truly bosomed friend), who she still only knew by her pseudonym, Miss Charming, was bouncing up and down just a few steps behind Henry. Jane gave her a little wave as Henry pulled her into a hug, lifting her off the floor, and even swinging her about a bit, which only shook more laughter out of her.

"I _missed_ you," he groaned emphatically.

She was ready to tease him the moment he set her back on solid ground.

"Clearly. That's the only explanation for this shirt."

"My descent into madness without you, you mean?"

She kissed him hello and embraced him again, wishing guiltily that "Lizzie" hadn't come so she could just keep holding him for a ridiculously long period of time for a public setting.

"I missed you too," she told him seriously, and then whispered in his ear, "And you look very sexy in a t-shirt, by the way."

He looked at her innocently and murmured, "Even this one?"

She nodded, "Mm-hmm."

He grinned.

"Aww, you two are so cute," came Charming's voice, a little too close for comfort, "But break it up! We had an agreement. Sorry, Jane, but I cashed in the favor Nobley owes me so I could hijack your arrival. So, that's what I'm doing. It's so good to see you!"

Jane accepted Charming's embrace.

"Oh really? What favor is this?" Jane asked, looking to Henry.

"Later! Later!" Charming said, waving a hand in Nobley's general direction and taking Jane by the arm. "Jane, I did it. I bought Austenland!"

"Fantastic!"

"Mrs. Wattlesbrook is staying on to advise on the historic accuracy and all that rot. She's been a bit resistant to my changes, but I think she's kind of relieved too. The financial stuff was wiggin' her out. The books were pretty bad, but since our grand re-opening we're well on our way to being in the black."  
"Really?" Jane said. She glanced at Henry and his silent reply seemed to confirm Miss Charming wasn't exaggerating.

"It's all about the merchandising, hun," Lizzie told her, "Oh, which reminds me…"

Charming was carrying a shiny gift bag in her hands that Jane realized had the Austenland logo on it.

"You get a t-shirt too," she held it partially out of the bag for Jane to see then continued rummaging inside, announcing the contents, "Sunglasses… a pen… kazoo…"

"Baggage claim," Henry said and gestured to their left. Jane followed and pulled Lizzie along, who was engrossed in the bag.

"…chewing gum…a miniature chitty chitty bang bang car… Oh, I brought the real one today, Jane. It's outside – just like when we first met."

Jane tilted her head and smiled with genuine fondness at Lizzie.

"Oh, there's mine," Jane said, spotting her suitcases. She started to pull away from Lizzie, but Henry waved her off and grabbed them.

"Thanks," she said, looking at him a little dreamily as he carried them for her.

"Hey, are you guys hungry?" Charming asked.

"Famished," Jane had to admit. She was too hungry to fib, even if it might have gotten dear Lizzie to give them privacy a little sooner.

"Brilliant!" Lizzie exclaimed more loudly than necessary, "We'll finish catching up while we eat and then I'll leave you two alone – at least until tomorrow."

When they arrived at the car, another familiar face was waiting.

"Miss Erstwhile, I am delighted to see you again."

Jane opened her mouth to speak, instinctively glanced back at Henry, then again to the dapper gentleman wearing a magenta suit with matching shoes, socks, top hat, etc.

"Should I still be calling you Colonel Andrews or James?" she asked him somewhat playfully, somewhat sincerely.

Colonel Andrews giggled.

"James is fine," he said, pausing to give her air kisses to each cheek, "The drivers are always 'James' anyway after all. You are looking well, Jane, dear."

"You too."

"Thank you. It's my new Master of Ceremonies uniform. No more wooing for me. Just general schmoozing – thanks to our new fearless leader."

Charming smiled so hard that it looked painful.

"Lizzie," Jane turned to her, slightly embarrassed, "I don't think you ever told me your real name."

"Oh, don't bother," Miss Charming told her, "I'm having it legally changed soon!"

"Oh."

James opened the back door for Jane. Henry had just finished putting the luggage in the boot and snuck around to the other side in an attempt to sit next to her, but it was no good.

"Ah ah ahh, boys up front!" Lizzie called out, and slid in the back next to Jane.

Henry obeyed, but glared in Lizzie's general direction.

"OK, I have to know now what that favor was," Jane said, between chuckles at the expression on her poor, beat-down boyfriend's face.

"Oo! Excellent!" James exclaimed, "I'm in this story. Do you want to tell it, or shall I, love?"

"You start it," Lizzie told him, "I'll jump in."

"Oh wait, before you tell it," Jane said mischievously, "I have a guess."

Henry turned in his seat and looked inquisitively back at her.

"He let you pick his attire," she said to Lizzie, "He's keeping his distance from me on your orders. You now own Austenland. You are the new Mrs. Wattlesbrook in so many ways. Therefore, the favor _must_ be that he wants to be hired on as a permanent actor."

James chuckled heartily. Lizzie seemed intrigued by the idea rather than to have gotten the joke.

Jane sensed Henry was at least slightly amused, but unwilling to show it.

"Quite wrong. Care to try again?" Henry asked.

"Mmmm, she agreed not to tell me about your criminal past?"

"No… She hasn't a clue about all that."

"I've got one," James chimed in, "He wanted free tours for his students of the grounds. They would all be so impressed."

"Oh, oh," Jane jumped back in, "He wanted to keep the outfits to give his lectures in."

That got James cackling and Henry felt compelled to remind him to mind the road. Jane noticed that Lizzie's face was scrunched up in thought. She wanted to contribute to the revelry. It would undoubtedly be nonsensical, or at least inappropriate. So, Jane quickly made a more serious suggestion:

"Or maybe it was something like the favor from Amelia, when you asked her to say my cell phone was hers, so I wouldn't get kicked out?"

"Awwww!" said James, "You did that? How adorable."

"No, but you are getting warmer," Henry told her, "The favor was about you."

"Uh oh. Am I going to feel terribly guilty for teasing you about it?" she asked.

His only answer was a cryptic look.

"Maybe he's a spy!" Lizzie exclaimed and then giggled at her own joke.

"Both favors also had to do with thwarting the old girl, too," James commented, "Quite rebellious of him."

"A double – no _triple_ agent!"

"So, let's hear the story already!" Jane reminded them.

"How about at the restaurant?" James said, "We're nearly there and that way I can put my all into the telling of it."

Henry rolled his eyes for Jane to see. Then he asked her sincerely:

"How was the flight?"

"…quadruple agent! ..."

"Long, but fine."

And more mundane chit-chat continued until Colonel Andrews' moment came.


	9. Chapter 9

_Author's Note: Apologies - if you're looking for the most recently added chapter, a new chapter 2 was inserted._

_**At the restaurant… **_

He told it all – starting with the stand-off at the pool, though with some delicacy.

"Wait, what was it he said about me?" Jane wanted to know.

"It's not important," Henry answered crisply, giving James a look that demanded solidarity.

"But you _hit_ him," she countered to Henry, certain that wouldn't have happened over anything unimportant.

"Trust me, Jane," Andrews interceded, "Though your honor was impugned, it was also soundly defended. When your knight arose from his seat and squared off with the scoundrel, the scoundrel slunk away with his tail between his legs, having received all the thrashing he could bear from such a warrior."  
"James, I could answer her very simple question of _what the favor was_ in a single sentence," Henry warned, "Do get on with it."

"Don't listen to him, James," Jane said, "I'm lovin' this."

"Then came the call from the old girl…"

Much of the next bit Jane knew first hand, unlike the teller, but she thoroughly enjoyed James' artistic license. In his version, there were gasps and cheers from the bystanders at the airport, security was called, and, if only Nobley hadn't been detained, he would have followed Jane right onto the plane and flown home with her to America. Jane wondered if the plane would have crashed on a deserted island as well.

Compelling though it was, jet lag was making her eyelids very heavy. They had a booth and Charming had finally allowed Jane and Henry sit together. Henry's arm lay across her shoulders and she couldn't help sinking a little more into him than the seat cushions. He was much too comfy.

"You're exhausted," Henry softly stated the obvious while James and Charming were too enraptured with the story to notice.

"I'm fine. I want to hear this. Could you hand me my Coke?"

She felt like she could hear his thoughts as he obeyed, something about, 'Too tired to pick up your own glass is too tired to be out at a restaurant.'

"It's not because I'm tired," she told him, "You're just too comfortable; I don't want to move."

Lizzie cleared her throat and Jane looked over sheepishly.  
"Did you get that last part, Jane?" Andrews asked, not offended in the least.

"Ummm…"

"I said, 'Henry declared to me –' "

"Oh God," muttered the hero of the story.

"Damn it, James, I'm going after her – my heart's truest joy, the other half of my soul. Even if I have to swim across the Atlantic and knock on every door in America until I've found her, by God, I shall."

"You shall?" Jane echoed at Henry with faux astonishment, "How much of that was yours?"

"I'm going after her," he said flatly. She laughed, but it still gave her goose bumps to imagine the scene.

Andrews leaned over the table and looked Jane solemnly in the eyes.

"It was all there in his tone, Jane," he insisted, "His tone conveyed multitudes."

"Oh, I know," Jane agreed, "I heard it – just now."

"And _now_," Henry prompted impatiently, "We come to the favor…"

"Ah yes," said James, "Now, while Henry was _willing_ to knock on every door in America, that would have been a painfully long time to pine away, so he came up with another solution – "

"Stealing!" Lizzie interrupted, "This is where I came in, Jane."

"Literally," Henry remarked.

"Henry knew that between my talents for deception and misdirection and Lizzie's for thievery, we were the best team for the job. Meanwhile, he could prepare for his journey across the sea."

"Actually, I didn't have a clue either of them had any talent," Henry told her, purposely giving the other two a hard time, "They were just all I had."

"Wait, sorry, what did he want you to steal?" Jane asked them.

"Wattlesbrook's file on you," Lizzie said as if it were obvious.

"Oh," said Jane, suddenly losing a good deal of her enjoyment in the story.

"What's wrong?" Henry asked her quietly.

"Nothing. I just – I know her files on clients have more than addresses and phone numbers in them," she said uncomfortably. She was remembering what Wattlesbrook had said – 'I try to learn a great deal about my clients… You have been, unlucky in love…'

James understood immediately, as he was familiar with his former boss's strange methods.

"Miss Hayes," he said, before Henry could, "Mr. Nobley and I are _gentlemen_. The only eyes at this table that saw inside your file were Miss Charming's fiery orbs and she relayed to Henry only what was pertinent to finding you."

Jane forced herself to shrug off her insecurities.  
"It's not like it would have mattered," she said, "Wattlesbrook hit the main theme for everyone to hear already – the details wouldn't come as much of a surprise."

Henry leaned in and whispered something in her ear. Jane burst with laughter a moment later, then snapped her mouth shut and glanced at him penitently. Then another glance, asking if what he had just said was really true. He nodded, but couldn't quite look her in the eye.

"So, we're even now?" he suggested.

Jane nodded quickly while James and Charming looked disappointed and confused.

"What? What was that, Henry?"

"Jane, did he say something dirty?"

Jane shook her head at them.  
"He shared something personal that could perhaps be considered extremely embarrassing," she said, carefully, if not altogether successfully, suppressing giggles. She turned to face him directly and added:

"I feel much better now. Thank you."

He was grinning back at her. Whatever Henry had confessed, making her happy apparently made the mortification quite pleasant.

"I suppose a couple in love is allowed some secrets," James said to Lizzie. Lizzie meanwhile turned and dug something out of her purse, then reached over the table to offer two bright pink tickets to Jane –

"Two lifetime VIP passes to Austenland. You can ride every ride in the amusement park as many times as you want – you can play the games too. Dunk the Hunk, is my favorite. Gotta love a man in a wet blouse. You can also attend any of the lessons you want – horseback riding, shooting, dancing. Stay away from the whist lessons though. Those are always given by the old girl. No offense, Nobley."

"None taken," Henry said dourly, "I appreciate the warning, in fact."

"Henry hasn't told her he's dating me yet," Jane said across the table as if it were scandalous.

"Only because I have no wish to speak to her at all after how she treated you."

"Oh come on," Jane told him, "You're going to forgive her – and you should. You wouldn't have subjected yourself to helping her out in the first place, if you weren't a loyal, generous-hearted nephew. I can ignore her disapproval just as easily in real life as I did in Austenland. More easily, in fact, because now I have you as my reason for putting up with it."

She had taken his arm and rested her chin on his shoulder to further pressure him. It succeeded in softening his expression considerably, but he made no reply.

"OK, OK, you lovebirds," Lizzie interrupted, for Henry and Jane were starting to get lost in each other, "I've got the check. Go get cavorting and we'll see you tomorrow!"

The four of them made their farewells and Jane and Henry were finally alone…


End file.
